Landlord and property

Why use a letting agent?

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According to our recent research, landlords who use a letting agent estimate that they save £1910 a year more than if they marketed directly to tenants.The survey, of 500 landlords, uncovered widespread misconceptions among landlords about the value for money offered by lettings agents. In fact, more than half of landlords surveyed currently choose to rent out their properties privately, with more than two in five of those indicating that the reason for this is cost.

These findings follow recent speculation that costs could rise for landlords, due to the ban on letting agent’s fees for tenants, which was announced last year. A perceived lack of value for money from UK letting agents could therefore potentially see a rise in the number of landlords who choose to let directly to the market, despite the financial savings made from working with an agent. Here we run through the most common reasons for choosing a letting agent.

Saves money

Pricey fees? Think again. Letting agents could actually save you money over the year. In fact, our survey found that landlords save £159 each month using a letting agent.

Vetting tenants

1 in 3 landlords think the most valuable role of their agent is vetting tenants.

Local knowledge

Just under 50% of landlords were most attracted to their agent’s local knowledge.

Reduces stress

Our survey found that nearly 41% of landlords find working with agents less stressful than on their own.

Saves time

We found that lettings agents save landlords an average of nearly six hours’ time every month.